The present invention relates to a step profile for a rescue vehicle, in particular for a fire fighting vehicle, according to the preamble of claim 1.
Rescue vehicles of all kind must provide a good accessibility of all of their parts and components. In particular it is necessary to enter the vehicle easily. In many types of constructions it is also necessary to climb onto the top of the vehicle, i. e. to enter a deck that is located on the vehicle top. For example, fire fighting vehicles that are equipped with turn table ladders comprise a walk on their super structure on which the operator of the ladder reaches the main operator seat of the turret of the ladder. The access to this walk is provided by comfortable main steps in the front part of the vehicle.
However, it is necessary to equip the vehicle with different axis points, in case the main steps are blocked. For this reason the rear part of the vehicle is equipped with an emergency step constructed like a ladder that follows the present standard requirements in view of its dimensions, anti-slip requirements, etc.
Like all other parts of a rescue vehicle, in particular a fire fighting vehicle, a step profile for a ladder forming a part of such a vehicle must have a consistent and durable design with a good connectivity to other engaging parts of the vehicle. In recent years profile systems have been developed to form many vehicle parts in a modular fashion, and a ladder step of the above kind could form one element in this modular system that must be compatible with other elements. Moreover, new developments in lighting technology allow the use of integrated illumination systems that are integrated within construction components. It is desired to integrate such an illumination system also in a vehicle ladder. In this respect it is necessary to make the contour of the ladder step visible by an integrated illumination function, but also to illuminate the ground beneath the ladder by a suitable lighting system. However, it must be kept in mind to keep the costs of the ladder system low and to reduce the number of necessary components for realizing the new features.